How to Save a Life
by Grasswing of Wingclan
Summary: I should have not been so blind to not notice how much I had hurt my best friend. I loved Redpelt, but was it worth it if it meant losing my friend? Duskclan challenge-Songfic. I don't own any of the songs. Rated T for death and killing...


**A/N: Hey guys! I am back with another forum challenge for Duskclan! This one is for a songfic and the songs I have chosen are How to Save a Life and You Found Me by The Fray. The songs are just beautiful and I love them a lot! I will tell you when I switch between the two songs. I hope you enjoy!**

The snow fell down from grey clouds above and her amber eyes stood out from the white snow. "Petalfall? What did you need me for?"

"Acornmist, we need to talk," she meowed and Acornmist tipped his head. "Don't worry. I just want to talk," she replied, her blue eyes showing sadness.

"Okay." He sat down beside her and Petalfall sighed.

"Acornmist. I know you love me but I just don't feel the same way. I really didn't want to break your heart. Please forgive me," she murmured and Acornmist felt as if his heart was smashed into a million tiny pieces.

"All this time? I thought we could be more than friends! I was going to ask you to be my mate, but now I can clearly see that there is no point asking that," he hissed and stood up. "Thanks for the talk Petalfall. It was really nice talking to you," he said sarcastically and stormed away.

Petalfall sat there alone, shivering from the cold as snowflakes swirled around her. Her pale grey pelt stuck out from the whiteness of leaf bare but after seeing his reaction, she wished she could just disappear. I didn't mean to upset him. Why did he take this the wrong way? Oh Starclan? Why did he understand?

* * *

Petalfall sat with her friend, Redpelt, chatting. She just happened to glance over at Acornmist. Ever since that talk, their friendship got so distant, Petalfall wasn't even sure if they were still friends. "Petalfall? Is something wrong?" Redpelt asked and she shook her head.

"No. I'm fine," she murmured, looking back at him.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Petalfall nodded and the two of them left the Berryclan camp.

* * *

It had been one moon since she and Redpelt had become mates. When the great news had spread through camp, everyone was happy for them. Well, almost everyone. Acornmist just seemed to be even more upset about it. The look he had gave her was just heart wrenching. It was a 'how-could-you-break-my-heart-with-him-even-after-you-knew-I-loved-you?' look. He ignored her all the time, never even wanting to go anywhere with her. Petalfall felt horrible. Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend, she thought miserably. Redpelt walked up to her and licked her cheek.

"Don't worry about him," he had said but that didn't cheer her up. As the two lovers walked away with their tails twined, Petalfall could feel him glaring at them.

* * *

Petalfall watched as Acornmist left camp and she wanted to go with him. She quietly followed him into the forest. He sat down at a stream and gazed down sadly at the blue water.

"Acornmist?"

He didn't even bother to look at her and she sat down beside him. "Please stop ignoring me. We used to be the greatest of friends, and now we rarely even see each other," she said quietly.

"Well, maybe I would be so upset if you hadn't broken my heart!" he spat, his voice raising. "I gave you everything and you just see me as a friend!" he growled and Petalfall was taken aback by his anger. "You might as well forget about me and take care of your kits," he growled and Petalfall was surprised he even knew about the kits. "I went to the medicine den for a poppy seed because I had a bad stomach ache and I overheard you and Tigerleap talking," he murmured and walked away, leaving her alone once again.

Petalfall tried to blink back the tears but they just kept coming. "I can't lose you," she whispered. "Please come back."

* * *

It had been more than a moon since the talk. Petalfall had recently kitted. Two tiny kits lay at her belly, suckling quietly. Petalfall was exhausted and licked each of her kits' heads. She looked at the nursery entrance, waiting for her mate to come. Instead, Acornmist walked in. "Where's Redpelt?"

"He just left for a patrol," Acornmist meowed, sadness in his eyes. He longed to be with Petalfall but knew her heart was with someone else.

Petalfall looked upset. "He didn't even bother to come and visit the kits," she murmured and Acornmist sighed.

"I know they aren't mine but I can help you name them," he meowed and she nodded.

Petalfall gazed down at the two tiny kits at her belly. One was a grey she-cat, like her and one was a fluffy white tom." The grey she-cat will be Rainkit."

"How about Snowkit for the white tom?" Petalfall nodded.

"Thank you," she purred and Acornmist gave a small smile. Then he turned and walked away, his tail dragging in the dust. Redpelt walked in and looked around until he spotted her. He walked up to her and looked down at the kits.

"What are we going to name them?" he asked and Petalfall frowned.

"I already named them while you were too busy to visit! Snowkit for the tom and Rainkit for the she-cat. Why do you care about them anyway? You were too busy on a patrol and didn't even bother to come and visit the kits or me! Acornmist helped me name them!" she hissed and Redpelt narrowed his eyes at the name Acornmist.

"Listen, I had to do my duties to the clan. Now you need to tell Acornmist to leave you alone. We are mates, not you, and him. He should stop trying to come back and interfere with our life. I am going to teach him a lesson so that he understands," he growled and Petalfall widened her eyes.

"No! No! Leave him alone!" she wailed and leapt to her paws. Redpelt turned to one of the other queens.

"Make sure she doesn't leave."

Then he walked away and tears flowed down her cheeks. She watched Acornmist leave camp and Redpelt followed him. "Please Leaftail. You have to let me save Acornmist! If I don't, I might never see him again!"

"Okay. I am only letting you because I know what Redpelt is capable of and it isn't good. Make sure you can save your true lover," Leaftail said moved out of the way for the upset queen to pass. Despite exhaustion, Petalfall ran as fast as she could to catch up to her mate and her best friend. A yowl came from not too far away and Petalfall followed it.

She had gotten to a small clearing and saw Redpelt fighting Acornmist. "Get away from her you piece of filth! She is my mate and not yours! She left you for me!" Redpelt scored his claws down Acornmist's side.

"Stop! Please stop!" Petalfall wailed but the toms didn't hear her. "Please!" she cried but still they continued to fight. Redpelt's eyes shone with hatred and he gave blows that could kill a cat. The handsome, dark reddish-brown tom she once knew was a monster. When he looked at Acornmist, he gave a look of pure hatred.

"This is what you get for trying to steal my mate!" he hissed.

Petalfall leapt at her mate, claws extended and knocked him over. She had him pinned and she could see clearly that he was beyond saving. "Please don't hurt him!" she cried and Redpelt slipped out from under her paws and turned to face her.

"You actually care for this pathetic excuse for a warrior?"

Acornmist bared his teeth, snarling at the reddish-brown tom. "I'm not pathetic! I am a better warrior then you. I let my heart be broken for the one I truly loved just to make her happy, but now I see what you really are. A _monster_," he snarled and Redpelt gave him an icy glare.

"I will just have to fix it then," he hissed and leapt at Petalfall, claws aiming for her throat. Petalfall, terrified, tried to dodge his attack. Acornmist leapt in front of his friend at the last second, taking Redpelt's claws to his throat.

Acornmist let out a wail in surprise, blood oozing from his neck wound.

Redpelt smiled, licking the blood off his claws. "If you tell anyone Petalfall, I will kill your kits and then kill you slowly and very painfully," he hissed. "Now that everything is fixed, I am going to get back to camp."

After he had vanished from sight, Petalfall rushed over to Acornmist's side. She pressed her paws into the wound, hoping to cease the flow of blood that continued to flow from him. "Stay with me Acornmist! Please! I can't lose you!" she yowled, her paws scarlet.

The once bright light in his eyes began to dim and he sighed. "You can't save me. I hear Starclan calling me," he murmured, stretching his neck and licked her cheek.

"Y-You can't leave! I made a big mistake all those moons ago when I told you I loved someone else. Now I see that the other half of my heart was with you. Redpelt could never complete my life. I-I-I love you Acornmist," she stammered, tears flowing down her cheeks.

A smile appeared on Acornmist's face and he let out a ragged cough. "Tell the kits I am their father. Redpelt doesn't even care about them. They would rather have a father who died saving you, then a cold-hearted killer," he rasped and Petalfall nodded.

"I will. Acornmist? Can I ask you something?"

The dying tom nodded and Petalfall took a deep breath. "Can we be mates?"

"Of course. Take care of Snowkit and Rainkit. I'll be watching you from Starclan," he choked out, the pool of blood below him turning his white pelt scarlet. "I love you." His breaths became shallow and quiet. Petalfall strained her ears to hear if he was still breathing. Then his body gave one last shudder and laid still, his blue eyes losing their light. They were once like the blue sky, but now, they were dark. She curled up around him, pressing her muzzle into his fur, and weeping.

Weeping for the pain she had caused him, for being too blind to see that he loved her and not Redpelt. That she gave birth to Redpelt's kits and instead of being upset, he put aside his pain and helped her name them. He even gave up his life for her, even though she had shattered his heart. Love was powerful.

* * *

(You Found Me by The Fray)

Petalfall walked back into camp, dragging her lover's limp body. Gasps came from the cats around her and Petalfall let out a sob. "What happened here?" Hazelstar asked and Redpelt tensed slightly. Would she really risk her kits' lives to tell he had killed them?

"It was a rogue. Acornmist went hunting and I went after him to talk but when I got there, I found him like this," she wailed, breaking into tears again, weeping into his fur. Hazelstar looked at the poor queen with sympathy.

"Acornmist was a great warrior and he didn't deserve to die so young," Hazelstar said loudly and all around her, the cats dipped their heads in silence, grieving for their fallen clanmate and friend. "Tonight we will sit vigil for him. He will be remembered as a great cat."

A tail was laid on Petalfall's shoulder. She turned around and saw Leaftail. "Come, let's get you to your kits," she murmured and guided the miserable she-cat back to the nursery. Inside the warm nursery, Petalfall could hear the mewls of her two kits and slowly, she lay down in her nest, curling her tail around the two tiny kits. "Why did you lie to the clan?" Leaftail asked concerned and Petalfall gazed down at her kits.

"If I told the truth, Redpelt was going to kill my kits and then me. I couldn't let my kits die. I promised Acornmist to tell them that he was their father, not Redpelt," she whispered quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Redpelt will pay for Acornmist's death."

* * *

It had been six moons since Acornmist's death and as Petalfall had promised him, Snowkit and Rainkit grew up thinking he was their father. At first, the clan was a bit confused, but they then learned to go along with it. Today was Rainkit's and Snowkit's apprentice ceremony and Petalfall was washing them just outside the nursery.

"Mom, do you have to clean us? I can clean myself!" Snowkit complained as his mother ran her tongue through his long white fur.

Petalfall chuckled. "I don't know if you will clean yourself. Last time you said you did, you had leaves, dust and even a burr in your pelt," she purred and Snowkit rolled his amber eyes.

"I tripped."

"Ya, you tripped," Rainkit purred, rolling her blue eyes. "Was that before or after you attacked me?" she meowed and Snowkit gave a playful glare.

"Enough you two. You should try to act more like apprentices, not kits," Petalfall scolded and Rainkit looked at her mother, innocently. "There, you are done Snowkit."

The white kit hopped to his paws, excited. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath tall hill for clan meeting," Hazlestar's voice sounded through the noisy clearing. Snowkit broke into a run and Petalfall purred, placing a paw on the tiny kit's tail, holding him back.

"Be patient. I want you to walk like apprentices, not kits who have never been out of the nursery once," she reminded her kits and they nodded. A reddish-brown tom walked up to the family and Petalfall let out a snarl, baring her teeth. "Go away Redpelt. You do not belong here," she jeered and Redpelt looked taken back.

"Petalfall? Why are you acting like this? We are friends," he meowed, pretending to no know why she was acting like this.

"You know perfectly well Redpelt. Stay away from my kits or I'll do it," she threatened and Redpelt narrowed his eyes.

"Go ahead Petalfall. Remember the consequences," he sneered and Petalfall guided her kits to the tall hill, ignoring him.

"Momma? What was he talking about?" Rainkit asked, worried.

Petalfall smiled warmly at her daughter. "Don't worry. It isn't anything that concerns you two. Now, we better hurry up or you might miss your apprentice ceremony," she purred and the two kits raced off to where Hazelstar was.

* * *

"Rainfeather! Snowcloud! Rainfeather! Snowcloud!" Petalfall cheered with the rest of her clanmates for her grown up kits. They had become great hunters and wonderful assets to Berryclan and she couldn't have been more prouder. Redpelt would often try to act nice to her kits, trying to act fatherly to them.

She told her kits to ignore him because he wasn't a nice cat and not to talk to him. The truth about Redpelt had been weighing down on her for a long time and she feared she might accidentally say it in front of everyone else.

She sat alone by the stream, looking down at the blue water. Pretty coloured leaves floated down from the trees above and swirled in the gentle breeze. A snap of a twig from behind stared her, and she turned around, claws out. There stood Redpelt, a grin plastered on his face.

"What's wrong Petalfall? Are you scared?"

Petalfall backed up; her back paws right at the edge of the grass. "I'm going to tell them! I will tell everyone the truth and Hazelstar will banish you for killing Acornmist!" she yowled and Redpelt tipped his head.

"Oh really? What about your kits' lives? Do they not matter?"

Petalfall walked up to him, narrowing her eyes until they were amber slits. "I do care and I will protect them!" she hissed and marched off. Redpelt glanced down at his claws and sighed. The foolish she-cat wasn't going to make it easy…

* * *

"Hazelstar? Can I talk to you?" Petalfall asked, waiting outside the leader's den.

"Hazelstar's out hunting," Redpelt meowed, looking down at his claws.

Petalfall's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No!" she yowled and ran into the forest to find her leader. She followed the scent until she reached a clearing, the same where Acornmist had died. "Hazelstar? Where are you?" she called but got no reply. A snap of a twig sounded behind her and she turned around but saw no one.

"Where are you? Who is there?" she wailed and she heard snickering. The bushes rustled but no cat walked out.

"Petalfall?"

She whipped around and was face-to-face with Redpelt. "I can't let you tell my secret," he murmured and before she could react, he sliced open her throat.

Petalfall let out a wail, pain lacing her body. She struggled to stop the flow of blood but it was no use. She let out a ragged cough, knowing her time was almost up. Black spots dotted her vision and she tried to blink them away.

It seemed like she was all alone in the forest. After what seemed like moons, she heard paws thundered on the ground and Hazelstar came running up to them, Snowcloud, and Mousepaw right behind her.

"What happened?" she growled and Redpelt frowned.

"Redpelt attacked me because he thought I was going to tell you that he was the one to kill Acornmist," Petalfall murmured and Hazelstar looked at Redpelt, fury dancing in her eyes.

"Traitor!" she spat and Redpelt shrugged.

"Goodbye my son Snowcloud, you are a great warrior," he replied.

"H-He's my father?" the white tom gasped and Petalfall nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry. I made a mistake and now I regret it."

Snowcloud dipped his head in forgiveness and Petalfall smiled. Petalfall closed her eyes, letting her breathing stop and welcomed the bright light of Starclan. There, in front of her was Acornmist. "Acornmist!' she purred, running over to him and rubbing her muzzle with his.

"I love you."

**A/N: Wow. That was interesting. I was actually listening to a few song while writing this. During the part right before she dies, I was actually listening to Dead Hearts by Stars and just before that, watching Venturiantale Siblings Murder for Gmod with non-other than he most famous killer by them, Jimmy Casket! I changed it because it started to get creepy at that part… Any who, I hope you guys liked it. I chose How to Save a Life and You Found Me because they both are really good songs and I couldn't choose between just one. They fit together though. Also, why not come and join Duskclan? It is a great forum!**

**-Grasswing**


End file.
